Dine on our Dime: Coyote’s Sports Cafe

Taking a walk in downtown Springfield on a Sunday can be a lonely experience. It’s like a ghost town, peppered with hot spots like Gailey’s and the Aviary. Coyote’s Sports Café on Jefferson Avenue aims to change all that.

Rodney’s Take

Rodney first discovered Coyote’s by accident. He was downtown and getting ready to see a matinee, and “we needed to have some spirits before,” he says. “We came down here to have a drink, and we noticed that they have a Bloody Mary bar.” On weekends, diners can enjoy their choice of liquor and plenty of mix-ins and typical vegetables that go into making a Bloody Mary, and because the diner has access to the bar, he can make it as spicy or as mild as he’d like. That first day was amazing, and he’s been coming back ever since. “It’s going to be a weekly event, I’m afraid,” he jokes.

Coyote’s has an expansive breakfast menu, and Rodney says he’s working his way through the menu and trying something new every time. “I’m going to come here every Sunday until they tell me to stop,” he says.

Rodney says everything he’s had has been great, and today he opts for the daily special, which is a spinach and feta cheese omelet. The icing on the cake is the andouille sausage it comes with. The portion is huge, and he often has leftovers to take home. “Oh, my, it’s good,” he says. “Well, everything must be good, because we all just got quiet!” As we chow down and toss back our drinks, Rodney says the spinach has great substance to it. “It all melts together with the sauce,” he says. “Try a bite; you’ll be impressed.” I oblige, and he’s right about the spinach. It’s cooked well.

“Mine is so good that I’m going to eat it all,” he announces, and though he usually has leftovers, this time he’s taking one for the team and savoring every last bite of his omelet. And when he’s done, only a dramatic plate push away will do for the kinds of flavors he’s just experienced.

He notes that everything breakfast cook Eddie McDowell seems to do is amazing. He’s never been disappointed, and it’s hard to believe the place isn’t packed with hungry diners and those who enjoy their libations at all hours of the day.

Katie’s Take

It’s five o’clock somewhere, right? I’m not into the Bloody Mary scene, but I’ll take a beer, Sunday morning or not. I’m shocked that this place isn’t busier, but then again, downtown Springfield seems to die on Sunday. This needs to change. I know plenty of Springfieldians enjoy their Sunday breakfasts and brunches out, and Coyote’s bar and expansive breakfast menu takes care of the need for comfort food to end the weekend.

It really is hard to pick from the menu. This dishes are Tex-Mex inspired. I notice breakfast quesadillas, chimichangas and tacos. All good things. Eventually, I decide on the Jefferson Avenue Pile Up, which has buffalo chicken tenders with eggs, andouille sausage, queso dip, hash browns and peppers. I get biscuits and gravy with it, too. It’s hard to write about this dish without wanting to immediately drop everything and go to Coyote’s and beg for it again.

I’m a sucker for decadent, savory breakfast food, and this hits all the spots — creamy, fresh — all of the flavors are there. I especially like dipping my biscuit in the smorgasbord of foods. And I also have to admit that I pour my gravy over my bowl of breakfast treats. Hey, now. This is the Dine on our Dime. I’m going to maintain that it’s a judgment-free food zone. Gravy and queso over my eggs and hash browns. Yes, I’m going to say that’s a completely appropriate way to enjoy Coyote’s. Washed down with some beer, of course.

The Dish, the Restaurant

Billy Lucen, Coyote’s Sports Café executive chef, says the new location opened two years ago right next to Mille’s Cafe. It offers the fine, upper casual dining that customers love from Mille’s, but also the sports bar feel.

“It’s sports food, but it’s done with French technique,” he says. Lucen is a Cordon Bleu trained chef, and he enjoys putting his French training to work at Coyote’s. Eddie McDowell, the breakfast chef, cooks and works on most of the breakfast menu. “He’s a way better breakfast chef than I am,” Lucen says. “He owns me in that department.”

Lucen also agrees that downtown is pretty dead on Sundays, and he’s hoping that will change when word gets out about Coyote’s menu and Bloody Mary bar. “We have a really fun breakfast menu,” he says.

The special is different every week. Sometimes it’s a traditional breakfast food with a twist, and other times it’s a brand new creation. “Eddie will come up with the special,” he says. “We pride ourselves on the variety that we have.”

The Jefferson Avenue Pile Up came from owner Dave Bauer. “He likes to have buffalo chicken tenders with his breakfast,” Lucen says. The dish happened by accident when they piled everything with the chicken tenders. “It’s the perfect hangover food,” he jokes. It’s crunchy, cheesy, spicy and has plenty of protein.

Rodney and I agree that Coyote’s is a solid breakfast choice for a Saturday or Sunday. Regardless of whether you like Bloody Marys, you’ve gotta check out the eclectic breakfast menu. I can’t wait to go back to try something else. Like Rodney, I’ll be working my way through the menu.